Story Summary: Starting Over, page posted 11/5/12

Page 23 of 34

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Reader comments

Comment ID #232296

Now that it’s been pointed out…Lucy actually was pretty mean to Mike back then. Even before Kindergarten? That’s a very long time for her to be abusing him. (whether it classifies as abuse is up to you, I consider it to be slight abuse, but abuse nonetheless.) I can fully understand Mike not wanting to be around her, especially with her almost never having a happy face on. He looks so scared and nervous around her, there’s no way I could have dealt with that for 13 or 14 years, however long they’ve known each other.

LightTribeNovember 5, 2012, 12:11 AM EST.

Comment ID #232306

So, is that what’s going on?
I think Lucy was once a very open and sociable feline, but she came to learn the hard way that if you don’t give into certain standards or play by certain rules, you’re slated to become an outcast. Because of this, she’s adopted the “tough hombre” attitude; don’t bother me and I won’t bother you.
However, Mike was a little different from the rest and was not only friendly, but displayed a high level of tolerance/acceptance. Lucy probably expected Mike to be like everyone else and the fact that he wasn’t perplexes her.
I think she’s attracted to Mike because of this and I think she is frustrated with her attraction to him. It’s hard to tell what she’s more frustrated with at this point: Mike deviating from the expectations she has on people or her feelings for him she can’t seem to explain.
Heck, maybe Mike reminds her of who she used to be: someone who was soft, but weak. Maybe she just wanted Mike to toughen up, but went about the wrong way doing it.

Blank On PurposeNovember 5, 2012, 12:28 AM EST.

Comment ID #232312

I… can’t really take sides with either Lucy or Mike at this point…

I mean, I like Lucy. Have liked her since the start of this story. Although she’s a very tomboyish and rough character, she can be sensitive and nice (in her own way). I mean, think back to older chapters of this story, she’s mostly been competitive yet kind of mean towards Mike, but she didn’t really know how to express herself back then. Also, there have been chapters like ‘Confrontation’ and ‘Troubled Waters’ that show that she’s risked her life for not only Mike but also her friends.
Lucy didn’t really grow much during elementary or middle school. I think she’s changed since entering high school. She still has the attitude and insecurity going on- as well as the clingyness- but I don’t think I’ve seen her hit someone in a while. :\ If anyone can prove me wrong, please let me know.
Still, the point is Lucy has a heavy weight on her as well as the burden of her fear of being alone. Neither are really healthy at this point and ‘December’ didn’t really help her much in either area. What Mike said just made it worse.

Speaking of Mike, he used to be a likeable character. Probably still isn’t right now considering current events. Please note that even if he had a right to be angry with Lucy for what happened in the past, Mike could have handled it a lot better. In ‘December’, he practically destroyed her with his words and then acted like it never happened! He even told Sandy that he tried to break ties with Lucy… *scoffs* Do you call being horrible to someone ‘breaking ties’ with someone? >: (
Mike used to be pretty understanding of Lucy and that made him a decent guy. He knew she had issues, but did nothing to help her. Instead, he kept being the ‘good guy’ to her and put up with her for all these years only to get to a point where he’s fed up with it! He even did certain things (learning how to swim and such) to ‘protect’ Lucy. What Mike should have done is get her some help for her problems, even if doesn’t want help.

In these aspects, neither characters are perfect. They’re both teenagers with many flaws that they have yet to civilly get over. Unless they learn from their mistakes or get help, neither are going to grow as a person.

I hope things go well for either of them. I still don’t like Mike for what he did in ‘December’, but unless he realizes just how much damage he’s done and until Lucy gets help, I can’t really takes sides at this point.